21st century modern baseball is bullpen baseball. 토토사이트
In 1998, when the major league system expanded to 30 teams, there were 283 pitchers with a record of starting even one game. Last year, that number jumped to 367. The number of starting pitchers has increased by 29.7% in 25 years. This is interpreted as the fact that as the dependence on the starting pitcher has decreased, the pitching staff position has been actively moved and the number of complete pitchers has decreased. The importance of the role of the bullpen is not unrelated to the expansion of the concept of ‘opener’.
Even so, the fact that the starting pitcher’s role has an absolute impact on the game has not changed. Calling a starting pitcher in the FA market every year is worth it. Among the top 13 players in average annual salary (AAV) in the FA market this time, there are five starting pitchers. They are Jacob deGrom ($37 million), Carlos Rodon ($27 million), Justin Verlander ($43.33 million), Chris Bassett ($21 million) and Clayton Kershaw ($20 million).
As of the 7th (Korean time), 33 of the 103 free agent contracts are starting pitchers. It is proof of how each club evaluates its starting pitcher.
Based on these offseason results, sports channel ESPN ranked the starting pitchers for 30 clubs and announced them on the 7th (Korean time). First place was the New York Yankees.
It is thanks to the fact that he finally secured a clear second starter to pair with ace Gerrit Cole. Even though the Yankees desperately needed a shortstop this winter, they turned away from the ‘Big 4’ shortstop and recruited Rodon. It took six years and $162 million. It was evaluated that he paid the most expensive price among the two starting pitchers in terms of total amount. The Yankees acquired Cole as a free agent three years ago for nine years and $324 million. As a result, it is equivalent to investing 486 million dollars (approximately 612.8 billion won) in the strongest one-two punch.
Rodon went 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 31 starts for the San Francisco Giants last year. His earned run average (FIP) of 2.25 regardless of fielding and strikeout average of 12.0 in nine innings were first among all pitchers. Power pitching with a four-seamer with a maximum of 100.2 miles and an average of 95.5 miles has reached its peak.
Last year was the second time that Rodon, who made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2015, filled the required innings. From 2021 to 2022, he posted a 27-13 record and a 2.67 earned run average in 55 games in two seasons. He is a top-notch starting pitcher.
Cole has been a lone ace since moving to the Yankees in 2020. The two starters who supported him were Masahiro Tanaka in 2020, Jordan Montgomery in 2021, and Luis Severino last year. There were only two starters. But Rodon is on a different level.
The Yankees support these two with the existing Nestor Cortes, Severino, and Frankie Montas as their 3-5 starters. ESPN said, “The depth of the powerful Yankees rotation is thick in that Severino is the 4th starter and Montas is the 5th starter. Only the question of health is a concern,’ he said, ‘will Severino last a full season? Will Montas’ right shoulder protect him from injury? There are certainly some issues, but the Yankees will start the season in a great position.’